Metals, energy lead commodities higher

NEW YORK 
Metal and energy prices led a broad rally in commodities Friday after the dollar retreated from its highest levels of the day.

"The commodity trade today was all about the dollar," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial Group.

Even though the dollar remained higher in late-day trading, it fell sharply throughout the session from the peaks it reached in the morning. As the dollar fell, commodity prices rose.

A weaker dollar makes commodities more attractive, especially for foreign investors, because they are priced in the U.S. currency. The ICE Futures US dollar index, which measures the dollar against six other currencies rose 0.3 percent. It had been up as much as 1 percent Friday morning.

Metals all rose, with copper again among the biggest gainers. Copper for May delivery rose 7.35 cents to settle at $3.379 a pound. Copper has surged 18.3 percent in the past two weeks because investors expect demand to remain high as the global economy recovers.

Gold for April delivery rose $3.40 to settle at $1,122.10 an ounce. March silver gained 35.3 cents to settle at $16.413 an ounce.

Energy prices also mostly rose, led by crude oil. Like copper, oil has been rallying in recent weeks on hope for an economic rebound.

Benchmark crude for March delivery rose 75 cents to settle at $79.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price has climbed 12.1 percent over the past two weeks.

The March contract closes on Monday. A lot of volume has already rolled over to the April contract, which rose 64 cents to close at $80.06 a barrel.

In other Nymex trading in March contracts, heating oil rose 1.83 cents to settle at $2.0699 a gallon, and gasoline added 1.65 cents to settle at $2.0857 a gallon.

Natural gas was the lone energy contract to fall. It dropped 12.8 cents to settle at $5.044 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Elsewhere, most grains rose. May wheat rose 4.5 cents to settle at $5.04 a bushel, while corn gained 2.75 cents to settle at $3.7175 a bushel. Soybeans dipped 3 cents to close at $9.545 a bushel.